about quotes.

[billy]

i'm trying to finish off something i started a long time ago and to be honest, i'm struggling, (what's new?).
when someone uses quotation marks around speech, as in;
Mary said "well i'll be buggered"
"You would be if i had the chance" said Jack.

what's the format. is each speaker put on his own line?
is there a line between each set of speech?
any help would help.

[Todd]

When there's a change of speaker I start a new line and indent the line. That may not be the right thing to do with every type of writing (I'll defer to our editors).

[Wildcard]

It depends on how clear it is who is speaking and how it is laid out. Leaving quotes open can indicate that one person speaks over many lines:

"Verily I say unto thee,
repent from your evil ways
and keep not the ways of Todd.

Behold! Billy is the god to serve."

Or you can have multiple speakers in one line:

"Did not." "Did too!" "Did not!!"

I think it is mostly just about making it clear who is talking.

[rayheinrich]

Don't worry, there are so many different quote "standards" that
almost anything you do is right once (and wrong many).

Here's a great specification from
"Sentence first - An Irishman's blog about the English language":

http://stancarey.wordpress.com/2009/02/2...ion-marks/


There's also this bit of fun from
'the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks':

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/


and here's a terrible poem example (mine) you probably shouldn't follow:

     < problems with the microwave >
     
     here we go again
     i just want to heat up some left-overs
     so i put them in the microwave and push start
     
     "i'm sorry ray, i can't heat this up,
      your food product has not been refrigerated properly"
     says the microwave
     
     "yes it has!" says the refrigerator
     "it was kept below 40 degrees for 1.6 days,
      the safety margin is more than sufficient"
     
     "my specification requires 38,
      i'm afraid the refrigerator is malfunctioning again, ray"
     
     "but 40 should be ok" i say
     
     "i'm sorry ray, i can't perform the requested operation,
      and, i might add, you're siding with the refrigerator again"
     
     "the microwave is defective and is in need of repair,
      i've requested service" says the refrigerator
     
     "i requested service for the refrigerator 3 minutes ago, ray,
      any request from the refrigerator will be viewed as suspect"
     
     "i'll eat the damned thing cold, open the door"
     
     "i'm sorry ray, i can't do that"
     
                       - - -
     
     (homage to Kubrick's film '2001' using kitchen appliances)

[billy]

Thanks guys
Is an indent prefrable to a line space?

[Wildcard]

I like to see indentation used consistently throughout a document in all paragraphs whether they are dialogue or not.

[Touchstone]

Thanks guys
Is an indent prefrable to a line space?

In general use, indentation is outmoded.

You could use it for effect within a poem.

[Todd]

It is true that online writing probably killed indenting. I still see it in print. I think at the minimum you would have to start a new paragraph with a speaker change (which would be your line space) or you'd have confusion between the speakers).